How Loud Should You Master Your Music?

[@MohammedMehdiTBER]

I always master to -2 True Peak -8 LUFS for my music and It still sounds loud and dynamic. It is always good to leave a certain headroom as you don't know the quality of devices listening to your music.

[@OlbaidMusic]

Good insights as always. What is really an absolute true is that this topic doesn't matter much if you did not invest enough time on your composition, sound design, arrangement, etc. Good music first, technical stuff later.

[@inthemix]

The is song always more important that the technical stuff. You're absolutely right!

[@doppewaxy282]

That's not relevant,coz once you got to build good behaviour from scratch,on your way up,even if you are not from professional college,as former education,for us (bed room producer)it's so important to consider such,there is no short cut boy,coz if you embress it you ain't gonna get there,so stop lying yourselves,don't 'bargain cheap',thanks to A.I nowdays,KZbin and such,right informations are a lot,you can learn to the extent,even though in joints,but time will tell.gretings from East Africa Tanzania 🇹🇿

[@cwilliammusic]

Music has to be as loud as it can be, period! As mixer engineer we understand the psychological effect of loudness and frequency on our mind. Use a clipper and just beaware of not introduce unpleasant harmonics or distorcion.

[@cwilliammusic]

@Akooa without loudness a song won't impact. Read carefully what I said. As loud as it can be. I never said make it so loud an destroy it.

[@DanBranza]

Mixing and mastering legend

[@rionvalet]

Sage Audio too

[@TachyBunker]

Wow. I was really worried and didn't know what levels to master at, if we had to do different levels for each platform or.... thank you! This is a huge relief, thanks to your advice again!

[@andreas9924]

Whenever I become too stressed or worried about my music production abilities or workflow, all it takes for me to get back on track is watching a couple of insightful videos from you. Thank you so much as always!

[@manasiangal1405]

What a timing for you to drop this video! I was getting extrememly confused about the loudness. Thanks for helping the common crowd so much, Michael!

[@inthemix]

Thanks, if you needed help setting the loudness when mastering I'd suggest watching one of my youtube mastering guides too. It will have a lot more practical steps to follow :)

[@manasiangal1405]

@@inthemix ohh I have, and they are extremely helpful! Your channel is literally my no. 01 go to channel regarding everything production and sound design related! Thanks very much for everything you are doing! :)

[@nikkiejurnigan684]

@@inthemix can you Make us the list of levels for Mixing before Mastering

[@inthemix]

@@nikkiejurnigan684 there is no such thing!

[@ceonationz]

Sincerely speaking, I really appreciate you a lot Micheal, your tutorials, advise and videos has made a very great impact in my growing process and I'm very sure many producer here have the same experience. Following your footsteps I've also started my own KZbin channel, building a music production community Thanks In the mix

[@inthemix]

Thank you for the kind message. It's great the you are making helpful content too. Best of luck with your channel!

[@ceonationz]

@@inthemix Thanks

[@alibanmusic1174]

Man u don't know how much I respect ur tutorials...where were u 10 years ago when Noone didn't want to help teach me shit! Blessings from Toronto!

[@alibanmusic1174]

U should get a job with imageline

[@VV-nh4zp]

Just what was lookin for. Great timing!🙌

[@Mix.Master]

Thank you for the video. I hope that now is clear for everyone, that mastering for platforms means the peak levels, and not the RMS loudness volume. Well explained. I was arguing on that with some stubborn people, and even now, they didn't get it clear. Good work. Cheers!

[@danielleung8585]

I always turn off normalization when listening on spotify, which most people don't do. So whenever songs are mastered to i.e. -14 lufs, it's much quieter than other tracks where loudness is just pushed to the max.

[@inthemix]

I have the same experience. I use Spotify without the normalisation (they also don’t use normalisation on web player or the TV app…). It’s quite frustrating which is why I discussed pushing the levels higher when you can :)

[@thechaoscourt8836]

@@inthemix I pushed my song higher than -14 lufs and even with the Normalization switched on my song sounded really low in volume and it just couldn't compete with other music. I don't know if it's just Spotify, but -14 Lufs doesn't really worked for me and I have started aiming for a much higher number. The same Master sounded well on other Streaming services, but Spotify just disappointed me. One last trick I tried to sort of research how loud the songs were, they were mastered at so high Lufs levels you can't imagine. Try using Virtual Cable and route the Spotify signal into your Daw.

[@Rise1Prod]

@@thechaoscourt8836 Spotify uses replaygain, which was good at the time. But it doesn’t use LUFS as a measurement. Also read somewhere that It is notorious for being sensitive to skewed mixes. Like if you might have to much High or low end, it Will think the track is louder than it actually is. Hope that helps abit

[@suavemusic_official]

Whenever I push music to platforms, I am pushing around -9 lufs and peaking at -0.1db in final mastering. Comes out pretty nice for me in all honesty.

[@igverebeats8156]

Yo Mic, I ain't know what to say, stay blessed 🌟

[@inthemix]

You too!

[@ChaceBonanno]

I don’t want to be uploading a different master to social medias for promo. If I lower the true peak from -1 to -2, I’ll have to decrease my dynamic range by using a limiter/maximizer, or by normalizing the volume down 1db. It makes much more sense to me to just always have my masters peak at a maximum of -2 for all platforms.

[@WhereAreTheGods]

Great video. Love the extra insights. One thing that was forgotten when dealing with WAV files if bit rate. Example: DistroKid will accept 32bit while CDBaby only accepts 16bit... regardless of where they're pushing the song. Levels are key but your WAV formatting is very specific based on distribution requirements. Keep up the good work! I tell everyone about your channel and it helps a lot of people.

[@PetiPolk]

Hey, on point as always. My way about it is that you shouldn't go for the limit left from the "loudness war". Actually no consumer stops a track and says "That is x dB quieter/or louder/ than my expectations and I want more". Mix and master like a consumer. 50 years ago there were very different standards for mixing and limiting and great music was created back then. Thanks for bringing this topic. Expert video as always. Thank you.

[@cdney8285]

This is incredibly useful👌, thanks Michael

[@gaving321]

Your tutorials have to be the best out there , can clearly understand what you mean, music I make is hard dancer music it needs to be loud, mines currently hitting -6.9 lufs , seems to loud that will be then lol

[@JSPahadi]

This Video Is Really Helpful Rhank You So Much Specially Social Media Part Most Of The Time Insta Reel Audio Quality gets Distorted & Most Of The People Don't Know How To Solve It 👏 Thanks For Helping & Getting This Point 😇

[@brettmaddan3255]

Hey Michael, Thanks for this. I always look forward to your posts. So useful, and always interesting! You are one of the few youtubers that I always make sure to check every new video you make. Keep it coming, we really all appreaciate your knowledge, and the way that you explain things. Thanks a lot!

[@flysolow38]

Really appreciate the fact that you make videos on the topics that you do, a lot of your videos cover things that most channels on youtube don't and you've helped me understand a lot of things, keep doin your thing man💪

[@sharan7504]

What a timing Michael!!! i was worried about the social media thing that you discussed and i had no idea why my music was sounding so bad on insta. YOU SAVED MY LIFE!!!!!

[@_kobeats]

Working with ozone really helped me urderstand this video in way I wouldn't some time ago. Thx!!

[@sk83r59]

I'm very new to mastering, and this has helped so much! You're a huge inspiration to me. You are one of the main reasons why I want to become a producer! The valuable information you give for free is so helpful, especially for beginners like me! Thanks again!

[@MukeshRathore]

Thanks a lot Micheal. It is indeed a quite confusing topic but the way you explain things it becomes so easier to understand. Take a bow sir!!

[@ISIISBeat]

Thank you Michael 🤝

[@thaironmantis]

I am grateful for all of your tutorials you have made me a better engineer i study your videos like they are class assignments and I am learning everyday thanks to your insights i am very appreciative

[@nikolaykamenov2597]

Great advice and to-the-point as always! Love your content, Michael 🔥❤️

[@justinoko2891]

I am a beginner in FL and I've learned many useful tips from this channel. Thank!

[@shykall]

Every advice provide is gold , and is given in a very open minded way. Your really are one of the , if not the, kindest youtuber . The music making gentleman ;-) Because every end of year is the time of awards. I give you the gold medal of the most pleasant and interesting posts to watch. I wish you a high level , dynamic, uncompressed happyness for 2022.

[@ChristophJakob]

Always enjoying these mastering videos! I'm at a point where I don't even really remember how I was ever able to work without Youlean Loudness Meter 2 or Ozone haha. But for what I'm doing, that's more than enough! =D

[@STAR0SS]

When a song is quiet I turn the volume up, when it's badly compressed with no dynamics I skip it.

[@inthemix]

This is my experience too, I have no issue choosing the volume myself. However I have literally seen people skip right past a song because it wasn’t loud in the first 10 seconds… listening to music is a completely different experience for some people!

[@Xylume]

The people that truly enjoy music and have invested in expensive DACs, mixing consoles, pre-amps, tube-amps, amps, headphone amps, powered speakers, powered monitors are going to harness the best audio quality out of quieter recordings.

[@Xylume]

@@inthemix I agree that some people want it extremely loud and some want it dynamically clean for their high-end audio system. Some people won't play music at a full volume on their main system until they can check to make sure it's under 0dB, but they won't care if they're just listening to it on their headphones or computer speakers.

[@TheCelestineProph]

GREAT VIDEO. THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS. I will be putting them to practical use. Cheers🥂

[@Filipmarinchev72]

Thank you for this exalent video !!!

[@fmajor_music]

I never get bored watching your videos you are a great teacher

[@ayisielidala111]

Im a Professional producer because of you 🔥🔥🔥

[@fleursousvotre]

these are crazy helpful

[@deangullberry777]

Great video explanation, have a song i am mastering currently and have always had trouble with this topic. Thank you.

[@seanmack6150]

I was thinking about this yesterday and boom! Thnkz Michael

[@bitflux2]

i think this is the best video on the topic in youtube, well done

[@patricketp8356]

Thanks for that

[@oz1836]

Super helpful video, thanks a lot for the info!

[@inthemix]

I’m glad it helped :)

[@Ranakade]

Damn, I was always wondering why songs I streamed on common platforms like Spotify sounded so boosted compared to my final mixes. I never knew that my uploaded songs would get boosted as well. Thanks for this vid! Really helpful!

[@zackmartinez.]

Bro I love ur videos , you have a great sense of detail when it comes to giving info , I understand everything !

[@etiennetrading]

You are a living legend kind sir! Thanks for the help

[@skygazer3696]

Alwayd straight to the point.. Very informative tutorial. Mike never disappoint.

[@aviralxd3583]

Interesting video even before I started.

[@harmlesscreationsofthegree1248]

Great vid, was curious about this topic and you delivered the answers, thanks!

[@ashishsinha245]

Thank you sir

[@WilmerPachas]

I really love all your videos. Thanks for sharing this useful information with us. Greetings from Peru!

[@ilgi7608]

This channel is gold! Thank you mate

[@nemttofficial]

Another amazing video! Your videos are so awesome. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about music.

[@hermn]

Very helpful. Thank you sir. Much appreciated and just in time!

[@igglue7671]

I've always have wonderd about this, I'm glad Micheal did a video on this.

[@elishaijaz4979]

Thank you bro! Really needed this video

[@hyurisalvador3914]

Nice tip! Now I know how to master in different platforms! Also when is your next sound design tutorial?

[@igorristic391]

Thank you, super helpful.

[@obayaljaber8598]

It's rly a great information for me My tiktok and instagram reels videos tend to have worst quality sound than KZbin even though I put the peak at - 1Dp. Hope this - 2Dp tip will fix that up Thanks for the info

[@rakibv8ight844]

Thank you, great and helpful content as Always

[@artsandtechnology]

one of the best youtube content out there thank you

[@kribu1905]

❤️Love u vro

[@josipvulic5471]

Such good info, thank you for this!

[@itsalv1]

Very helpful! Thanks for the amazing video!

[@randomguyonsake]

Great video man. Helped me a lot. Keep it going ❤️

[@mmg-k5x]

lovely vid thanks!

[@xnervemusic]

This was really helpful thanks Mike 💪

[@bhargavdobhal5327]

Thank You Bro🙌🙌Very Helpful Video🔥🔥.

[@boristubeti6776]

Why commercial masters tend to be much higher than -12LUFS? Thank you 🙏🏻

[@bubulmaster5230]

Thanks for all your videos

[@ElijahEzell]

Always great! I had released a single and put the preview on my Instagram and yes it definitely clipped on there. So Thank you for bringing that up! Good stuff!

[@inthemix]

It certainly adds a crunch doesn't it! I'd maybe even try a test with a mono version for Instagram. I have had some people come forward and tell me that mono audio worked better for them! Maybe test it as a private story post and hear the difference :)

[@ElijahEzell]

@@inthemix ahh mono would make sense too. that's a good idea! Thanks for sharing!

[@IJLAudio]

Very interesting thanks for this! I’m trying to make something promotional for a sci-fi themed game and was trying to push it to “survive” on the social media platforms; second thoughts now of course. Thanks for the advice man 👌🏻🤓

[@saolairde396]

Brilliantly explained thank you 🙏

[@j.o.n.i.h]

When someone listen to your -14db lufs song without volume equalization it's going to be a lot quieter than pro records. The loudness is in the mix. When you get better at balancing your mix you notice that it's easy to get etc -7db lufa loudness. This has been the biggest struggle for me personally for so long.

[@james2touchmuminkohbeats.21]

I do doubt if I ever enjoy a teacher like you, I drop mathematics class because of my secondary School teacher 🤣 he confused ordinary adding numbers. I will be a great producer some day because of you thanks much❤️

[@salvazo]

Current streaming services are doing it wrong, as I bet you 'secretly' opine. I think normalization applied should be in terms of turn up the volume and not lowering it down. Am I wrong?

[@mehraein_]

very helpful and informational as always

[@newheightsfitness1461]

Very informative! If I'm selling on Bandcamp, can I go lower with true peak? Down to -0.1, as they are purchasing the FLAC?

[@jentaro]

You are going up not down. And yes, you can if your material is mixed good and is not distorting. I would actually recommend this strategy for that specific site.

[@sumitromandal6173]

Thnx for the video sir hope you are doing well....can you do a video on Fruity Love Filter? It would mean a lot

[@aaronpanganiban4827]

I've been trying to figure this out for a while now and I can't seem to get it. I manage to get it to average 14lufs and been striving to keep it under that -1db True Peak, but it still doesn't sound as loud as other records and it's been frustrating me to no end. How do you hit it that loud while sticking to these numbers?? I've heard that the average mastering engineer goes WAAAY past this and yet they still sound good.

[@inthemix]

Good question, I tried to address this in this video. When pushing it louder you need a brilliant listening environment and monitoring system so that you can adjust the various compressors, limiters and EQs to find the best compromise between loudness and quality. For instance, I use consumer headphones to listen to my masters (apple ear buds) but I can’t use them when dialling in my settings, for that I have to use my mastering grade headphones (DT1990 Pro)

[@kartikkunwarvlogs]

Thank u 😇❤️

[@NimeshShresthaeditor]

I’ve always loved your videos. They are very educational. Can you please guide us how to calibrate studio monitors properly? Thank you.

[@PrinceEfue]

Thanks you for all these knowledge

[@Kru172]

You my friend, are a life saver :)

[@dynamicphase8239]

If you're making electronic music go for -6 LUFS I would say

[@DarkRider14]

Can you make some tutorial on professional mastering like skrillex do - 3/-4 Lufs level🙂

[@bahanijeannot3572]

Thank you so much

[@Kleinebombair]

Thanks for Sharing your know how with us

[@darwinfoye]

Great informative video. At 2:22 you mention True Peak in conjunction with the term "Ceiling". Thus, is this the same as what Apple refers to as "Out Ceiling" in Logic's Adaptive Limiter? Secondly, in many mastering videos, I am seeing the Out Ceiling set to -0.3 dB, rather than -1.0 that you are recommending. As of 2024, are you still recommending this number? I realize recommendations can change over time as we are seeing with the LUFS for various genres of music.

[@silenc9]

No professional mixing or mastering engineer will ever master at -14 lufs. It will never compete. Just clip it and rip it, make it loud af. Just dont lose too much transient information and dont get too much artifacts/distortion/saturation/clipping. Thats it

[@inthemix]

I’ve seen professionals mastering at integrated levels of between -4 and -16 LUFS. You have to do what serves the music the best.

[@silenc9]

@@inthemix sure. I mainly mix and master very heavy genres of metal and the biggest guys in that genre make the songs ridiculously loud, punchy and impactful. Also saturation and lots of compression are common within the genre so the sound is very aggressive

[@GuidoHaverkort]

Should you have a seperate master for playing it live? As a dj And should that master be as loud as possible?

[@FataMorgana-Official]

My thoughts about loadness for mastering. Use your ears and make a master that sounds as good as possible and make it as load as you possible can. How much you should compress and if you should use a limiter at the end of the master chain really depends on genre (the more you use compression and limiting, the loader the master can be). I recently remastered a recording I made in 2001. I just used my ears and made an analysis after the mastering was done, it ended up around -9 to -10 LUFS, which somehow is the "normal" level for a rock/hardrock record. Jazz is lower, metal is higher, but the important thing is to be in se same ballpark as your competitors. The band Fata Morgana is not a metal band so I think I did it right. Feel free to listen (just click on me). If you like guitar-driven hardrock with more complex arrangements but still melodic, you should defenetely listen. Remember, your ears are going to tell you whats right. not numbers! // Peter, guitarist in Fata Morgana

[@sabboumusicc]

Thank you so much !

[@laughoutloud2247]

Michael is so 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥✅

[@shorerocks]

Excellent, but... what levels for CD's? I do rock, and when a new Joe Bonamassa come out (or something similar), I check their levels, to see where they are. Now all CDs I buy I make my own FLAC files, and these I usually play. CD's are so much louder than streaming. Is my conclusion correct that you would do a third master for CD production? Thx, great vid, as always.

[@papatanice9627]

Thanks again!

[@dontworry2371]

Helpfull

[@OneMinuteMeds]

Second lime today KZbin gave me exactly the video I need to proceed in my current project, and both times it was In The Mix. Say what? I'm illuminated now as to why my sound recordings steamed to KZbin have been so damn low in volume. Time to remix and repost.

[@ToT_music]

Спасибо. tiktok, of course, cuts music strongly, I will try different methods, but KZbin is certainly loyal to the sound and transfers it better than others. I haven’t thought much about this problem yet, but it’s already necessary)

[@Tyrell_Corp2019]

Any thoughts on mastering ambient music? I’m in the process of doing so and I’m finding that it’s best to stay around -23 to -18 LUFS. (EBU R 128) True Peak around -8. Anymore than -18 LUFS and everything gets horribly squashed. I also cross-referenced with some Brian Eno tracks, and that’s exactly where most of his recordings sit. So I’m wondering… Is ambient music the exception? If so… Perhaps it warrants a video onto itself?

[@DatboyChikez]

I really love this😊❤️❤️

[@GabrielaZapataMusic]

Hello! I just watched your newer video in which you said the loudness wars were over and loud won. Would you still advice keeping a true peak of -1 or below for the master (for Spotify, Apple,etc)?